One Organization’s Story of Radical Process Change Using 3P.

Andy Meyerhofer, plant manager at CertainTeed, was not sold on the 3P process when it was first proposed as the right approach to tackle a major project. In fact, he tried to sidestep it. The process sounded too difficult and resource-intensive. He discovered, however, that although 3P does require a big investment, it is a powerful tool, and the process of making the decision to use it was just part of the journey.

3P (Production Preparation Process) is a method originated by Chihiro Nakao in which employee teams conceptualize, develop, validate, and deploy radical improvement in product and process design. In contrast with kaizen, incremental improvement, there is nothing gradual about 3P; it’s a systematized way to achieve kaikaku—sporadic, step-level change. At CertainTeed, the 3P approach has been used to radically redesign processes and achieve groundbreaking improvements.

Share this content

What’s Missing From Your Lean Initiative?

TPM’s integral role, with 5 takeaways to guide your strategy.
Most business owners and general managers recognize just how critically important proper equipment maintenance is, particularly in an asset-oriented work environment.

Lean Practices Support Innovation

To consistently drive top-line growth, leaders must commit to a disciplined and creative focus on meeting today’s market challenges while strengthening capabilities for future competitive mastery. It’s a matter of keeping the core business running optimally without losing sight of what’s on the horizon—and being prepared for and open to “creative destruction.”